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You have found your dream house but it will take significant work to make it a home. You do not have cash in savings to pay for both a down payment and the repair costs. Not to worry - this is not a hopeless situation. Fortunately, there are two types of mortgage loans available for just this scenario: The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) 203(k) rehabilitation loan or Fannie Mae HomeStyle Renovation Mortgage.
FHA 203(k) Mortgage
The Federal Housing administration has provided a home loan that allows buyers to borrow enough money to cover the price of the home plus the estimated...

Buying a home for the first time is a very exciting adventure, but as with any new experience it can be easy to make plenty of mistakes. In order to make a satisfying purchase, try to avoid these 5 big first-timer blunders.
1. Get Pre-Approved before looking for a home
If you are truly ready to make a home purchase, start with first things first. Contact New York Mortgage Exchange to get pre-approved for a mortgage. This will give you a good idea of how much home you can afford and it will make you a viable buyer when you find the right house. Otherwise, you run the risk of falling in love with...

Being able to purchase a home is often tied to how much of a down payment you have saved. If you have never bought a house before, you may not understand what a down payment is or why it is so important. Here’s the basics you need to know as you save up for your first home.
A down payment is a portion of the purchase price paid up front to your mortgage lender. It is very important to lenders because it shows them you are serious about the purchase and committed to paying off your loan.
How Down Payments Affect Your Mortgage
The size of your down payment can affect your mo...

Although they are not nearly as common today, some mortgage loans do come with a prepayment penalty. Home loan borrowers should be aware of them before signing their names on the dotted line. Here’s what you need to know about prepayment penalties:
What is a prepayment penalty?
A prepayment penalty is a fee the borrower must pay if they pay off the mortgage loan faster than the agreed terms. They often only apply during the first three years of the loan. Some prepayment penalty clauses also stipulate that a borrower cannot pay off more than 20% of the loan balance each year.
Whe...

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a smart step before you go out looking for a home. A pre-approval letter shows sellers that you have already proven to a lender that you have the income and down payment to qualify for a mortgage loan. This allows sellers to take you seriously, especially in a hot seller’s market. Pre-approval can be quick and painless, if you have the right documents lined up. While each lender may require slightly different paperwork, there are at least 4 documents that almost all lenders will need.
Income & Employment Documents – All lenders want ...

The majority of homes around the country are purchased with the aid of traditional, conforming mortgage loans. Yet when home prices rise quickly, many markets have price tags that are too high for these standard loans. Enter the jumbo loan.
What is a Jumbo Loan?
Jumbo mortgage loans are those that have a higher dollar amount than the limits set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises that buy up home loans and sell them on the secondary market. Since Fannie and Freddie are backed by the federal government, they create loan limits to minimize the risk of loss t...